4/31/09 I went to the DR.

PHIL SHOW; I have the GREATEST MOM; More

EUCHARIST PLEASE; Be a FISHER of LOST SHEEP !

4/31/09
I went to the “DR. PHIL SHOW”re
“Meltdown Moms’; I am thankful for
having the GREATEST MOM in the
WORLD ! ; Protestants might want to
encourage their pastor to have
EUCHARIST more often; We are
FISHERS of MEN (or should be); Don’t
forget the LOST SHEEP

…and this was also the week of National Prayer Day which should
actually be National Prayer WEEK ! Why just one day of national
prayer ? Really, we need a National Prayer YEAR , & it should be every
year. We were BORN to pray & born to “play.” And when I say
play I don’t mean merely engage in mindless activity but “play for
God.’
ONE activity that engages our spirituality is evangelism & prayer, as
well as attending church & the eucharist. The Catholic church is MUCH
BETTER about delivering the eucharist on a regular basis than the
Protestant church, by the way.

For those of you who are Protestant you might want to encourage your
church pastor to have the Eucharist more frequently. When I was
growing up we had “holy communion” three or four times per year. In
retrospect I do NOT believe this was frequent enough for us as a
spiritual congregation seeking God with all our hearts, minds, & souls !.

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But just attending church or mass is NOT the end of the story. That’s
the beginning. It’s like “commencement.” For a lot of people
graduating from college becomes the “end” of the story when, in fact, it
is supposed to be the BEGINNING, which is why it is called
COMMENCEMENT !

Likewise, the church should really be thought of as an “outpost” for

spiritual regeneration so that we can go “OUT” into the world
and keep telling the Good News & delivering the Word to people who do
not know but need to hear it. And we need to keep seeking the “lost
sheep” who are “out there” wandering—waiting for YOU & ME to find
them.

Go…to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

And as you go, preach, saying
'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'
Matt 10:6-8

“But He answered and said, "

I was not sent except to the lost sheep
of the house of Israel."
Matt 15:24

“We preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling

block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are
called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God
and the wisdom of God.
1 Cor 1:23-24

Almost every time I go to a school “on assignment” as a substitute

teacher some kid says, “Are you Jewish?” And then yesterday (5/8/09) a
kid said, “Are you Mormon?” ha ha. So now I usually respond, “Are you

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Jewish?” or “Are you Mormon?” or “mirror” whatever question they
ask. If they say, “You look Jewish” I say, ‘You look Jewish” ha ha.

And then we get into a little dialogue about “What does a Jewish person
look like ?” and stereotypes, etc. And from there, afterI have assured
them that I respect all religions (but believe only one) I often point to
the cross hanging on my neck and say, “Do you know
what this means ?” And from there the inevitable question or distinction
is made between “catholic” & “Christian” (the terms the kids often use
to distinguish between Roman Catholic versus Protestant).

Earlier this week this conversation ensued & somebody mentioned

“Jews for Jesus” & I began to discuss the fact that all of Christianity
originated with Judaism & about the ultimate hope of Christians to find
the “lost sheep” in Judaism and bring them to Christ.

As I was saying this a junior high kid named Kyle interrupted & said,
“Is this history class ?” (he knew it wasn’t and that was his point—
trying to tell me I shouldn’t be talking about religion or faith, or my
faith, in English class... I told him that if somebody asks me about
religion or my religion I will give a complete answer.

But he was being “legalistic” and so for the rest of the period I
treated him likewise. When he started talking too much to his
friend I moved him to a seat on the other side of the room. When he
asked to move back by his friend I asked to see what work he had
completed & he had completed NOTHING, so I denied his request.
Legalism begets legalism. Faith & spirit begets faith & spirit. Jesus was
bringing this message to the world. Live by the Spirit & die by the
Spirit. Live by the sword & die by the sword, likewise.

For if you live according to the flesh you will die

but if by the Spirit you put to death t
deeds of the body, you will live
Rom 8:13

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 Therefore I make known to you that no one
speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus
accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord
except by the Holy Spirit.
1 Cor 12:3

Yesterday I had a better experience when somebody asked about

my faith, but yet I don’t necessarily want the kids to “cheer” when I say
“I am Christian” –at least not in the classroom where potentially people
of other faith or secular faith are present. That would betray the mission
of public education.

Nonetheless I know the young Christian kids do feel the need to cheer
when they hear others next to them or their teacher are fellow believers
so it’s hard for me to tell them not to cheer, but at the same time I don’t
want people of other faiths or religions or of “secular faith” to feel
marginalized.

The goal of Christians should be to be inclusive with the hope that

people of other religions & faith will see something special about
followers of Jesus Christ & want to be part of the most incredible
movement that ever happened & continues to happen, & will never end.

We really are “fishers of men” and to catch a fish we must put

something on the hook that looks good. And so some churches operate
SPECIFICALLY with that “fisherman” motif in mind. The Crystal
Cathedral, for example, apparently believes that a SHINY
CATHEDRAL with some Hollywood glamour & a TV SHOW is good
“BAIT” to bring people in and let them know more about the GOOD
NEWS and how to become part of this JESUS MOVEMENT. Other
churches use different “techniques” to attract “lost sheep.”

My ministry, Mustard Seed Ministries, emphasizes POSSIBILITIES

and the POWER of GOD in us via FAITH ! I was influenced by Robert
Schuller’s possibility thinking message but my ministry is more mobile
and less attached to any specific buildings or structures other than the
BODY OF CHRIST ITSELF ! IT’s different & it’s exciting.

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And looking forward to MOTHERS DAY 2009 I WANT people to know,
& especially my own mom, Linda Peters Kok, to know how
THANKFUL I AM for having the GREATEST MOM in the
WORLD ! & so I put together a video FOR MY MOM on MOTHERS
DAY (2009) (looking forward to it on May 10, 2009) & FOR ALL
MOMS ! Here’s the link to the video on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knqI5siVjds

I want to
ENCOURAGE MOM’s TO HANG IN
THERE and never become discouraged and always be confident that
GOD is there with them at all times. Dr. Phil on Thursday (May 7)
emphasized that there are times when MOMS should TAKE A
BREAK from the kids FOR A FEW MOMENTS to cool down as
a form of anger management. It’s NOT ALWAYS EASY being a full-
time mom & one thing Dr. Phil did not talk about is OTHERS around
the MOMS who can also help the MOM so that she doesn’t feel as if the
KIDS are TOTALLY HER RESPONSIBILITY 24/7.

Dads should be involved. And the KIDS have to HELP MOM too !
MOM is not a slave or a waitress. C’mon kids ! C’mon dads !
Help mom so she doesn’t become frustrated or
overwhelmed ! WE SHOULD ALL BE ‘MOMS” to a certain
extent, or at least walk in her shoes once in a while so that we can have
more empathy & compassion.

And that’s MY MIXED (but not mixed up) MESSAGE for the
week. Lots of ideas thrown out at ya’ll & I hope at least one of them
STICKS WITH YOU for a while & inspires you to do something that
will GLORIFY GOD !

VanderKOK, EVANGELIST